Legislation to encourage generic drug entry introduced in House and Senate

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and other members of the Senate and House Judiciary committees today introduced the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act, which targets anticompetitive behaviors used to block and delay entry of generic drugs. Among other provisions, the bipartisan legislation would allow a generic drug manufacturer facing a sample-sharing delay tactic to bring an action in federal court for injunctive relief and allow a judge to award damages to deter future delaying conduct. “The AHA supports policies to advance sustainable and fair drug prices while encouraging innovation of new therapies,” AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels said in a letter of support for the bill. “These policies reflect our assessment that the challenge of high and rising drug prices is multi-faceted, and there is no one solution that will enable us to achieve the objectives. Generic drugs are one tool for reducing drug prices, as they increase competition to the monopoly enjoyed by drug manufacturers after a drug’s patent expires.”